A peculiar moment involving Tiger Woods and a tree left golf fans in stitches during coverage of the Masters on Sunday.
The five-time winner made history on Friday after making the cut for a record 24th time, but the next two days saw him finish at the bottom of the leaderboard with a score of 16 or higher.
Although fans would have been disappointed not to see him compete for a record-tying sixth green jacket, they at least had a moment of levity during the broadcast when the 48-year-old appeared to shake hands with a tree.
One fan joked: ‘Tiger Woods shaking hands with his favorite tree in Augusta. Nothing but class.
“Rare photo of Tiger Woods meeting an ent,” joked another. A third said: “That will be the meme of the year.”
Tiger Woods interrupted his tough final round to share a moment with a mystery individual
Fans were delighted with the image of Woods during the broadcast of the final round of the Masters
Woods was shaking hands with legendary American commentator Verne Lundquist, who will hang up his microphone after the 2024 Masters.
It soon became clear that Woods was actually shaking hands with legendary American commentator Verne Lundquist.
Lundquist is calling time off his commentary duties after a mutual decision was made for 2024 to be his last Masters.
As for Woods, Sunday marked his 100th round at the Masters and he wore his traditional red for the final round, which started well enough but didn’t last long.
Woods hasn’t really been competitive here since 2020, when he finished tied for 38th a year after his surprising fifth victory at age 43.
He finished 13th more than two years ago, then was forced to retire in 2023 in the third round due to injuries that were not helped by the cold, rainy weather that had taken its toll on his body.
This week, Woods briefly showed flashes of the past.
He played the first two rounds in 1 over to make the cut for a record 24th time. But the final two rounds were a struggle for Woods, who posted the worst round of his career in a major with an 82 on Saturday.